Early visual arts
The earliest known forms of visual expression in Mongolia are the cave paintings at Xoit Cenxer in Manxan sum in Xovd aimag, which have been described by Professor A. P. Okladnikov as belonging to the "Orinyak-style" art, and on a par with the rock paintings of Altamira in Spain. (See Petroglyphs)
Among the other unique and valuable early artworks found in the territory of Mongolia are the Uighur Turfanic murals now in the collections of the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts. Further murals, representing Buddhist deities and Mongolian Xaans and princes, were discovered among the ruins of Karakorum during the course of excavations in 1948. A painting depicting a ceremony attended by more than seventy Xitan officials, military commanders and commoners has been discovered in the 11th-century tomb of a Xitan Xaan near Cagaan Suvarga in Baarin aimag of Inner Mongolia, along with an image representing the four seasons, including birds and other wildlife native to the forested steppe region of eastern Mongolia.
Most paintings from the 13th and 14th centuries depict scenes of battle, hunting, and the history of the nomads or everyday life, making use of a free spatial composition. Ancestor portraits also became common during this period, mainly under the influence of the Xitan tradition; among the most famous examples are the portraits of the Mongol Xaans and queens of the Yüan Empire, produced by court artist Xorixoson.
Well-known works of the 15th and 16th centuries include the paintings enclosed with a letter sent from Altan Xan to the Chinese Ming Emperor, which showed the towns, walls, bridges and buildings encountered along the route from the territory of the Tümed Mongols to Beijing, as well as exceptionally realistic portrayals of Altan Xan, his queen, officials and court musicians.
 | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. |   |